9.19.2008
What is Paranormal? What is Occult?
The mainstream religious press, who are currently congregating in Washington, are exploring the just-released data from the National Baylor Religion Survey on Americans' Beliefs and Practices.
"Do Americans really believe in Santa Claus? Does God directly speak to people? Should the Bible be taken literally, word-for-word? These, along with other in-depth questions relating to religion, belief in the supernatural, and the voice of God, comprised the new wave of the National Baylor Religion Survey on Americans' Beliefs and Practices."
This survey, which polled 1,648 people (the Pew Forum, in contrast, surveyed 35,000 people), claims to hold some startling new information about what Americans believe, including the fact that liberal religionists are more likely to believe in the "paranormal".
"The survey, which has a margin of error of four percentage points, also revealed that theological liberals are more apt to believe in the paranormal and the occult - haunted houses, UFOs, communicating with the dead and astrology - than do conservatives. Women (35 percent), blacks (41 percent), those younger than 30 (40 percent), Democrats (40 percent) and singles who are cohabitating (49 percent) were more likely to believe, the survey said."
This point was used as a journalistic "gotcha" by M.Z. Hemingway to infer that the liberal-leaning United Church of Christ (Obama's former denomination) was less "rational" than the conservative Assemblies of God (Sarah Palin's former denomination).
"Even among Christians, there were disparities. While 36% of those belonging to the United Church of Christ, Sen. Barack Obama's former denomination, expressed strong beliefs in the paranormal, only 14% of those belonging to the Assemblies of God, Sarah Palin's former denomination, did. In fact, the more traditional and evangelical the respondent, the less likely he was to believe in, for instance, the possibility of communicating with people who are dead."
Of course measuring "paranormal" and "occult" belief all depends on what you consider paranormal. For example, the ethic of spiritual warfare, which is common in many AoG churches, would certainly be considered an "occult" practice in any non-Christian context. In fact, many religious beliefs sanctified by various Christian denominations would be considered taboo if it was done by a circle of Wiccans instead of a church full of "believers".
Then again, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this particular slant in the data. After all, Baylor is a conservative Southern Baptist college, and the survey questions are heavily skewed towards Christian modes of belief. Hence, the "big story" (so far) from the Baylor survey is that Americans love their guardian angels!
"The guardian angel encounter figures were "the big shocker" in the report, says Christopher Bader, director of the Baylor survey that covered a range of religious issues, parts of which are being released Thursday in a book titled What Americans Really Believe. In the case of angels, however, the question is a little stronger than just belief. Says Bader, "If you ask whether people believe in guardian angels, a lot of people will say, 'sure.' But this is different. It's experiential. It means that lots of Americans are having these lived supernatural experiences."
Belief that mystical entities are floating around protecting you? Sounds pretty occult to me.
Labels: Baylor University, Christianity, journalism, occult, paranormal, Religion, survey
6.13.2008
More Insight Into Pagans and Politics
It is difficult to get good poll and survey data relating to modern Pagans. Because we (and other minority faiths) are so small in comparison to the Christian majority, most pollsters don't even bother exploring what people who check "other" in the religion box think about politics and current affairs. There are the occasional hints, but usually we are stuck making educated guesses. So it is with some enthusiasm that I greet a new survey from the Henry Institute at Calvin College which gives some space to what "other faiths" believe.
"...just how much has really changed in terms of the religious terrain and the way in which religion serves to shape political attitudes and preferences? A new survey, commissioned by the Paul B. Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin College and conducted by Opinion Access Corp. of Long Island, New York, gauges the political attitudes and political preferences of 18 distinct American religious communities on a wide variety of issues and addresses these questions. Based on a large sample of 3002 respondents, the results reveal that some important changes are occurring in the way in which religion relates to American politics..."
For this poll, "other faiths" included anyone who wasn't a Christian, Catholic, Jew, Agnostic, or Atheist. Which means that Muslims were classified as "other" along with Buddhists, Hindus, and other "others" (ie Pagans and other groups too small to merit mention). However, Muslim respondents to this survey were quite low (0.2%), while "Hindu, Buddhist, Other" respondents were higher than usual (4.8%)
So given the usual caveats regarding surveys, what have we learned about the religious "others"? Well, we learned that "others" are overwhelmingly aligned with the Democratic party (46%), or label themselves as Independent (32%), with only 22% claiming affiliation to the Republican party. However, Republican party affiliation did grow among the "others" from 12% in 2004 to 22% in 2008, while allegiance to the Democratic party dropped from 55% to the current 46%. This may be cold comfort to the Republican party however, since on issues ranging from free trade to the environment and abortion, "others" seem to overwhelmingly favor Democratic positions.
What do these numbers ultimately tell us? First off, it says that the "other" vote is the Democratic party's to lose in the coming Presidential election, but that no politician should take the minority religion vote for granted. An increasingly large number of "others" are declaring themselves as Independents, and are more likely to be "issues" voters instead of party loyalists. A trend that favors mavericks within the two major parties, and small third-party alternatives.
This survey could point to a unique political identity among the non-monotheist set. Independent-minded, socially liberal, and issues-oriented. A make-up that, as we shift into a post-Christian society, could mean the erosion of the dualistic partisanship we have experienced recently, and the emergence of a key "other faiths" vote.
Recent Pew Forum numbers estimate that "other faiths" only comprise around 2.4% of this nation, so the 4.8% showing in this survey is quite high.
Labels: Democratic Party, Henry Institute National Survey on Religion and Public Life, Paganism, politics, Presidential election, Religion, Republican Party, survey
5.13.2008
A Peek Into The Post-Christian Future
Ruth Gledhill of The Times examines new survey data on religious attendance in Britain, and the results aren't looking too good for Christianity.
"Church attendance in Britain is declining so fast that the number of regular churchgoers will be fewer than those attending mosques within a generation, research published today suggests ... Churchgoing [Christians] across all denominations in England will fall from about 3 million today to about 700,000 in 2050. In Wales it will tumble from 200,000 to 42,000 and in Scotland, from 550,000 to 140,000. The figures take into account the recent boost to Catholicism from the number of Polish immigrants to Britain, particularly in Scotland."
The new data comes from UK-based Christian Research, who regularly publish updates on church attendance and adherence in their "Religious Trends" studies. While the Times article gives special focus to Muslim fortunes in this brave new (projected) Christian-minority world (at least in terms of attendance), the rising tide of declining Christian attendance raises all religious minority boats.
"The forecast to 2050 shows churchgoing in Britain declining to 899,000 while the active Hindu population, now at nearly 400,000, will have more than doubled to 855,000."
So if Muslims and Hindus are going to benefit, what about the Pagans? According to the last British census, there were around 40,000 Pagans in the UK. But many Pagans believe there are a lot more, from conservative estimates of nearly 300,000, to (un-sourced) articles claiming there are a million Pagans. If census growth rates hold steady in the next fifty years (and if these latest projections hold true for all non-Christian faiths), religion in Britain won't be taken over by Muslims, instead we can look forward to a Britain locked in a precarious balance between the remaining Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Pagans.
Aiding the growth of minority faiths will be the economic decline of Christianity in Britain. As attendance drops, the large institutional structures maintained by the Church of England and the Catholics will become unsustainable. Something that could happen in less than thirty years.
"The fall - from the four million people who attend church at least once a month today - means that the Church of England, Catholicism and other denominations will become financially unviable. A lack of funds from the collection plate to support the Christian infrastructure, including church upkeep and ministers' pay and pensions, will force church closures as ageing congregations die."
Of course, predictions of future events could always be altered by factors yet unforeseen. However, it does give us a glimpse of how a post-Christian world might look, and what our place might be in such a world. Will we be ready for a time when modern Pagans hold political office (and pandered to by politicians looking to get into office), are looked to for social guidance, and considered completely mainstream? We in America may get a preview of such a world sooner than we think in the UK.
Labels: census, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Paganism, post-Christian, Religion, survey, UK
